Kindle Is Amazon’s Best-Seller Despite Tablet Rivals

For all the talk of tablet computers — in particular, the Apple iPad — eroding interest in e-book readers, Amazon.com is reporting strong Kindle sales as holiday-season numbers roll in. On Monday, Amazon announced that the third-generation Kindle is officially the best-selling product in company history, eclipsing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7).

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said he’s grateful to the millions of customers who have made the all-new Kindle the best-selling product in the history of Amazon. Then he made it clear that he isn’t running away from the hyped-up battle between e-book readers and tablet computers.

Room for All?

“We’re seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet,” Bezos said. “Customers report using their LCD tablets for games, movies and web browsing, and their Kindles for reading sessions.”

Bezos went on to point out some reasons why the third-generation Kindle is still holding its own despite the success of tablets like the Apple iPad. He specifically mentioned the price. Compared to $499 for an Apple iPad Wi-Fi edition, Kindle’s $139 price is a key factor in the success of the e-reader.

“[Customers] report preferring Kindle for reading because it weighs less, eliminates battery anxiety with its month-long battery life, and has the advanced paper-like Pearl E Ink display that reduces eyestrain, doesn’t interfere with sleep patterns at bedtime, and works outside in direct sunlight, an important consideration, especially for vacation reading,” Bezos said.

iPad Experience Doesn’t Compare

Phil Leigh, an analyst at Inside Digital Media, said part of the Kindle’s success is the fact that it offers an end-to-end digital book-reading experience. The experience of shopping, purchasing and reading digital books is better than it is at Apple, he argued.

“Amazon also makes a number of books available for free. As a matter of…